One More Time
by Short Tulip
Summary: "I wished upon stars to see him again." Short story, Dual Destinies spoilers. Cykesquill


"I wanna marry Simon when I grow up!"

My mother spun and stared at me for a long time. She tucked an extra bang that was hanging in front of her porcelain face behind her ear, and let out a small laugh. And Simon was there too. His face turned crimson red the moment I made my wish explicitly clear. But he didn't say anything. He continued reading the report that mom had given to him. Apparently they were working on some cases together, and my mom was Simon's mentor in Psychology.

I wasn't joking. If I am a princess like Aura had always muttered under breath, with an annoyed look on her face, then Simon would be my knight. Isn't a knight always married to the princess he vows to protect?

"Athena, dear." Mom patted my head. "It's too early to say that. But of course, you can marry whoever you want to," She turned her head towards Simon. "and that includes Simon, too."

"Cykes-sensei!" Simon stood abruptly from the chair, his face redder than cherry tomatoes that I refused to eat when mom put them in her cooking. "I-I-I feel this conversation isn't appropriate for young Athena."

"Eh," I sulked. "But I love Simon _onii-chan._ You promised to be my knight in the shining armor, don't you?!"

"I did but I-"

"No excuses!" I placed both of my hands on my hips. "You promised! And Junie told me the knight must marry his princess!"

He sighed. "Did Juniper tell you another princess tale again? Wait, a princess marries a prince, not her knight!"

And we bickered for more than an hour that Simon's agenda for that day was never accomplished. I saw Mom smiling at the corner of my eye.

"Okay, okay. I admit my defeat. I _will_ marry you when you grow up."

It was funny seeing Simon flustered and flushed at the same time, and I wished upon stars that I would see that again.

But the cruel fate set upon us had left me being entirely deprived of feelings and emotions.

And cries of souls that my ears always reached out to.

* * *

"Athena."

"Athena."

"Athena!"

Mr. Wright's voice boomed at my ears. He stood stiffly in front of my messy desk. Ah, right. Today is my last day at Wright Anything Agency. He didn't know that. I had to clean up all these papers, probably stuff them into a cardboard box.

I guessed my work for the past several years yielded nothing. In the end, I wasn't able to save Simon…

"Do you want something for lunch? I'm going out for a moment."

"Mr. Wright, I have to tell you something."

"I don't like where this is going…" Nevertheless, he remained calm.

"I'm going back to Europe."

"I see."

I'm sure he's devastated. Aura took Trucy and the other hostages, and they vanished, leaving no trace. And Apollo left us without a single word. Everyone suffered from the last trial. Simon, his execution… I broke down, sobbing so hard. I didn't care who was there. Because of me, my friends, my coworker, my knight in shining armor—I lost everything.

I wished upon stars to see him one more time.

* * *

"Athena."

I lifted my head groggily. This time I heard a voice, but it didn't belong to Mr. Wright. I knew those dark bags under his eyes anywhere. That long unkempt hair with a hawk on his shoulder. That white and black coat with a family insignia. I leapt from behind my desk to tackle him. We fell together on the floor, with me on top of him. Taka screeched, saving himself by landing on the red couch.

A single tear escaped my face.

"Uh, Athena." That booming voice. Omigosh, Apollo! He's here!

"Athena, you know it's not appropriate to show PDA in the office, right?" Mr. Wright towered over us with a serious voice, but I could hear a tinge of happiness coming from his heart.

Simon quickly regained his dark, looming posture and helped me to my feet. He cleared his throat. "Apologies, Wright-dono. It appears that Athena has yet to learn office manners."

"Riiiight." Apollo agreed to that, and all of us laughed.

I forgot that I promised Simon that I would have lunch with him today.

That dream—where everything was falling apart seemed so surreal. Even now, I could feel the cold that crept up to me, as if I myself was receiving the punishment that I wasn't able to save anyone. My face was flooding with tears. Simon stopped walking and turned to me.

"Athena, what's wrong?"

"N-Nothing! Just a dream I had. It was… tragic. I couldn't save anyone. It was my fault-"

Without a word, he pulled me into a warm embrace. His thumb wiped away those tears.

"Shh. I vowed to protect you, remember?"

I chuckled.

Simon Blackquill, my knight in shining armor, forever and always.

"Yeah. And you promised to marry me someday too."

His face turned beet red at that moment. And I thanked the stars for realizing my wish.

"I feel this conversation isn't appropriate for young Athena, right?"

~The End~


End file.
